Washing-machine



L. PRICE. WASHING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED NOV-17 lPatemedSept. 6, 1921.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

IN VENTOR.

A TTORNE Y.

L. T. PRICE.

WASHING MACHINE. I APPLICATION FILED NOV 17, 1920.

Patented Sept. 6, 1921,,

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L. T. PRICE.

. WASHING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED NOV-17, 1920.

Patented Sept. 6,1921,

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ATTORNEY.

L. T. PRICE.

WASHING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED NOV. 11, 1920.

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Patented Sept. 6, 19211..

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"ATTORNEY.

L. T. PRICE.

WASHING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 11, 1920.

Patented Sept. 6, 1921.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 5 WMWEE W WIIIWEIM A TTORNE Y.

INVENTOR.

ME H I LOUIS '1. PRICE, OF PORTLAND, OREGON.

WAS HING-MACHINE.

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To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LOUIS T. PRICE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Portland, in the county of Multnomah and State of ()regon, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in a Washing-Machine, of which the following is a specification.

- This invention relates to washing machines and more particularly to power actuated machines of this character.

The object of the invention is to provide a washing machine constructed so that the clothes container will have a combined reciprocatory and rotary motion thereby quickly and effectively cleansing the clothes.

Another object is to provide a simple and cflicient device for throwing out the clothes container actuating mechanism to permit the container to be turned independently to afford convenient access to its interior with out endangering the operator. g

Another object is'to provide an improved form of clothes container equipped with means for'efiectively cleansin the clothes.

Another object is to provi e a carrier for the clothes container so mounted as to relieve the container supporting shaft and its bearings of all strain and wear.

Another object is to provide a removable housing for the gear carried by the container'shaft which while protecting the gear from contact with extraneous objects and from dust may afi'ord easy access to the gear.

Another object is to provide means operable by the opening of the lid of the machine to throw the clothes container actuating mechanism out of operation avoiding injugy to the operator.

till another object is to provide a wash ing machine equipped with a wringerand having actuating mechanism therefor operable by the power which drives the washing machine and provided with means for throwing it into and out of operation atthe .line 4-4 of Fig. 1.

Sp ecification of Lettel slatenta p t t e e, 1921,,

Application filed November 17,1920. Serial No: 424,706.

of the preferred embodiment of the invention.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 represents a side elevation of a washing machine constructed in accordance with this invention. r

Fig. 2 is a top plan view thereof.

l1" 'ig. 3 is an end elevation thereof.

Fig. 4 is a horizontal section taken on the Fig. 5 is a transverse section taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 4:.

Fig. 6 is a side elevation of the clothes container shown detached, parts broken out,

the cover securing means being shown in open position. I

'F'i 7 is a detail vertical section taken on the line 77 of Fig. l.

Fig. 8 is a similar view showing the. looking means for securing the 'Wringer in adjusted position, and,

Fig. 9 is a detail longitudinal section taken on the line 99 of Fig. 2.

In the embodiment illustrated a supporting structure is shown which includes posts 1 with a platform 1 supported thereby and projecting at its opposite ends beyond the posts. Carried by the posts above the platform is a watertight cleansing fluid container 2 here shown rectangular in form and provided at its upper end with a hinged top 3 equipped with a securing latch 4, and having-a drain cock 2.

Mounted to reciprocate and rotate in the container 2 is a perforated clothes container 10 shown polygonal in cross section with supporting shafts 5 and 6 fixedly secured to its opposite ends. These shafts 5 and 6 extend through suitable watertight bushings 2 in the end of the container 2 and are supported in bearings 8 carried by uprights 9 of a reciprocating carrier 20 presently to be described.

The clothes container 10 has a hinged sec- I tion 11 to afford access to the interior there of for inserting and removing the clothes to be cleansed and which is held in closed position by metal straps 11 hinged to cooperate with straps 11' secured around the perimeter of the body of the container 10 at the ends thereof. The straps 11 are adapted to swing outwardly for releasing the container closure and are. equipped with lips 12 to facilitate the opening and closing thereof.

' 35 container 2.

. 50 rotate said container in The interior of'the container 10 is equipped with a plurality of rubbing elements 13 ar- Q ranged transversely onthe sections forming the polygonal container, those on one seetion being staggeredin relation to those on the other to produce an effective rubbing surface for the clothes to be cleansed. 4 The shaft 6. which is secured to one end of the container is provided with one or 10 inore keys or ribs 7-, two of said keys being here shown and which are designed for slidably mounting a gear 14 on the shaft 6 to provide for its rotation with the shaft and its sliding movement thereon.

A housing '15 fits over gear 14 and has an inwardly and laterally extending plate or arm 16 on its inner face which carries on its upper-face a rack 17 This plate 16 is mounted to slide in laterally spaced guides in the form of arms 18 carried by one end of thew'ater container 2. The rack carrying plate 16 is limited in its inward move-. ment by beveled tongues 19 thereon entering cooperating notches 19 in the guides 18. When this plate is at the limit of its inward movement the gear 14 will mesh 'with a gear 21 mounted on a stub shaft 21 in a bracket- 22 carried by the end wall of the container 2 in a plane below the guides 18 as is shown clearly in 1. This stub shaft 21 also has mounted thereon a bevel gear 23 which meshes with a cotiperating bevel gear 24 car;

ried by the upright shaft 25-mounted in suitable bearings on the platform 1 and the Another bevel gear 26 is also fixedly mounted to the shaft 25 and meshes with asimilar gear 27 carried by one end of a crank shaft 28. The crank shaft 28 is mounted in suitable bearings 29 on the plat- 4 form 1" and is provided at one end with fixed and loose pulleys 30 and 31 to receive a driving belt 32 which passes over a pulley .33 (Baffled by a transversely positioned driving shaft 34 driven by a suitable motor M.

It will thus be seen that when the motor M is started the train of gears above described will be actuated to impart a rotary motion to shaft 6 which is fixed to the clothes container 10 and consequently will the water container 2.

The carrier 20 is in the form of a-bar extending longitudinally under the container 2 and projecting at opposite ends beyond said container, said bar being mounted to travel on rollers 38 mounted in suitable .brackets depending from the container 2, said rollers being adjustable to provide for wear and to prevent the shafts 5 and 6 and their bearings from being strained and to prevent them bindingv in their reciprocatory movements. A pitman 39 is pivotally connected at one end to the crank of shaft 28 and at its other end is pivoted to the carrier bar 20 at a point about midway the ends ley 31 and thus throw the actuating mechacleansing the clothes, it of course being understood that the cleansing'fiuid will enter the container 10 through the perforations therein, said container being submerged or partially submerged in the fluid in tank 2.

A belt shifter 40,-see Fig. 3, is engaged with the belt 32' and is operable by a lever 41 for shifting the belt from the fixed pulley 30 to the loose pulley 31 and vice versa. -When the-belt 32 is onthe fixed pulley 30 as shown in Fig. 2 the upper end ofv lever 41 which iscurved laterally outward' will be positioned in the path of the lid 3 of container 2 so that when this lid 3 is raised the side edge thereof will engage lever 41 and forcibly move it outward thereby operating the shifter controlled thereby to shift the belt from the fixed pulley 30 to the loose pulnism for the clothes container out of operation and avoid all danger of 'injury to the operator. It is of course understood that the operating mechanism may bethrown into operation by reversing the movementof the lever either while the lid is open or after.

it has been closed.

A shaft 42 is mounted to rotate in suitable brackets 43 carried by the end of container 2 on which the above described mech- Z anism is mounted. A toothed segment 44 is fixed to shaft 42 and meshes with the rack 17 carried by the gear housing. 15. Anop crating handle 45 is secured to one'end of the shaft 42 and a coiled spring 46 is connected-at ,one end with the handle 45 and at its other end to the end of the container 2 and exerts its tension to normally hold the segment 44 engaged with the rack 17 and the handle 45 in lowered position.

When it is desired'to quickly. throw the clothes container out of operation the han dle or lever 45 is lifted upwardly against the tension of the spring 46 thereby rota'ting the segment 44 which operates to move 120 the rack carried arm 16 outwardly carrying with it the housing 15 and gear 14 until the latter has been disengaged from gear 21 which obviously will throw the container 10 out of operation and permit the operator to rotate said container by hand independently of its operating mechanism so as to bring the cover section thereof intoreadily accessible-position." When the hapdle 45 is released the spring 46 will return it tojilor- 130 mal position in which position the tongues 19 on plate 16 will enter the notches 19 in the guides 18. When in this position the gears 14 and 21 will mesh to provide for the operation of the container in the manner above described.

A clothes wringer 50 is preferably pro vided for use in connection'with this improved washing machine and as shown is carried by a frame positioned to swing horizontally over the upper end of the washing machine on an upright shaft 51. This frame has a housin 52 at its pivoted end in which is mounted a lievel gear 53 fixed to the upper end of shaft 51 and which meshes with a cooperating gear 54: fixed to a horizontally disposed shaft 55 mounted in the frame carrying the wringer.

A sliding clutch member 56 is keyed to the inner end of shaft'55 and is designed to engage when the wringer is in operation, acoeperatingclutchmember 57 carried by the inner end of one of thewringer rollers as is shown clearly in Fig. 1 so that when these clutch members are engaged the rotation of the upright shaft ,51 will operate through the intermeshing gears to actuate the wringer, said shaft 51 being rotated by means presently to be described.

A clutch control lever 58 has a forked end engaged with the clutch member 56 and ,v is designed for connecting and disconnecting said clutch members. When the clutch members are engaged the lever 58 is engaged with a suitable catch 59 to prevent v all possibility of separation of the clutch members. en it 1s desired to release the clutch members to throw out the wringer without affecting its actuating mechanism the lever 58 is disengaged from the catch 59 and swung upwardly thereby sliding the clutch member 56 out of engagement with the coiiperating member .57 and releasing the wringer. This quick release is often found necessary should a piece of clothing become entangled in the wringer'and after it has been straightened out the wringer may be again thrown into operation by the reverse movement of the lever 58. The upright shaft 51 is mounted in suitable bearings on the platform 1 and the upper end of tank 2 and has mounted on its lower end a fixed bevel gear 60 which meshes with a similar gear 61 carried by a horizontally disposed shaft 62 arranged transversely of the platform 1 and mounted in suitable bearings carried thereby. A

.fixed pulley 63 and a loose pulley 64 are mounted on the shaft 62 adjacent each other and are designed for engagement by the driving belt 65 which extends around the pulley 33 on the motor driven shaft 3% so that when this belt 65 is engaged with the fixed pulley 63 the wringer actuating mechanism will be thrown into operation and vice versa when it is shifted 0n theloose pulley 64, said mechanism will be thrown out of operation;

A belt shifter shown at 66 in Fig. 2 is positioned for convenient operation by the operator to shift the belt 65 from one of these pulleys to the other itbeing obvious that when the washing machine is in operation the wringer'will not be used and vice versa.

Fixedly secured to the upper face of the bracket 51 which supports the upper end of shaft 51 is' a notched plate 67 through which the shaft 51 passes. This plate 67 is provided at its perimeter in its upper face with a plurality of notches 68, any'desired number of which may be employed, four being preferably used and arranged at diametrlcally opposite points. A locking latch 69 in the formof a lever is-pivotally mounted in the. lower end of the housing 52 and has a notch engaging pawl or nose 7O whlch 1s designed-to enter one of the notches '68 in the plates 67 to lock the wringer carrying frame in adjusted position so that said frame may be swung horizontally and locked ,in any desired re ation to the machlne.

The preferred embodiment of the invention is disclosed in the drawings and set forth in the specification, but it w ll be understood that any modifications w1th1n the scope of the claims may be made in the construction without departing from the prlnciple of the invention or sacrificing any of its advanta es. 7

WhatIcaimis:

1. In a washing machine, a supportmg' structure, a closed fluid receptacle mounted therein, a clothes container mounted in said receptacle, journals'at the ends ,of said container extending through opposed wa'lls of said receptacle, a carrier mounted to recip-v rocate longitudinally relatively to said re ceptacle and having connections between it and said journals whereby the actuation of said carrier operates to reciprocate said container, and means for simultaneously operating the carrier and rotating said container.

2. In a washing machine, a supporting structure, a closed fluid receptacle mounted therein, a clothes container mounted in said receptacle, journals at the ends of said container extending through opposed walls of said receptacle, a carrier mounted to reciprocate longitudinallyrelatively to said recep- 1'20 tacle and having connections between it and said journals whereby the actuation of said carrier operates to reciprocate said con tainer, a crank shaft, a pitman connecting the crank of said shaft with said carrier to reciprocate the clothes container through the carrier, and gearing-actuated by said crank shaft to rotate said container, one member of the gearing being keyed to slide on one of said journals, andmeans for movingit out tainerextending through opposed walls of said receptacle, a carriermounted toreciprocate longitudinally relatively to said receptacle and having connections between it andsaid journals whereby the actuation of, said carrierioper'ates to reciprocate said container, a crank shaft, -a pitman connecting the crank of said shaft with said carrier to reciprocate theclothes container through the carrier, and gearing actuated by said crank shaft to rotate said container, one member of the gearing being keyed to slide on one of said journals, a hood carried by said receptacle and having a;laterally extending plate and a rack thereon, a toothed segment meshing with said rack, and a lever for actuating said segment. to reciprocate said-plate and release the gear which carries it.

4. In a washing machine, a supporting structure, a closed fluid receptacle mounted therein, a clothes container mounted in said receptacle, journals at the end of said container extending through opposed walls of said receptacle, a carrier mounted to reciprocate longitudinally relatively to said receptacle, and having connections between it and said journals, whereby the actuation of saidcarrier operates to reciprocate said contamer, a crank shaft, a pltman connecting reciprocate the clothes container through the carrier, and gearing actuated by said crank shaft to rotate said-container, one member of the gearing being keyed to'slide' on one of said journals, a rack connected to reciprocate with said member, a toothed segment meshing with said rack, and a lever for actuating said segment to reciprocate said rack and re lease the gear which carriesit.

In testimony whereof, I aflix my signature hereto.

LOUIS T. PRICE.

- the crank of said shaft with said carrier, to 

